Fourteen workers are trapped after an explosion at the bottom of a coal mine in northern Colombia, AFP found on Tuesday.

"We do not lose hope, we hope that these 14 trapped people can be found alive," said Manuel Pradilla, the city's mayor, in an interview with Colombian TV.

The incident took place in a mine in the municipality of Zulia, in the department of North Santander, bordering Venezuela.

One of the miners who was outside the mine was injured by the explosion with "burns all over his body", said Mr. Pradilla.

According to the municipality's health secretary, Gerson Hoyos, the mine was operating legally and "belongs to the Carbomax complex". Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, which took place late Monday afternoon.

The emergency services are working to rescue the miners, while their families, some in tears, wait near the site of the explosion, noted an AFP photographer.

Mining and oil are Colombia's main exports. Colombia, the fourth largest economy in Latin America, recorded 148 deaths in mining accidents in 2021.